The couple, who are divorcing, were married for nine years and have three children. Mr Goldsmith said: “I was stupid to have said anything on Twitter. It’s no excuse, but I was devastated.”

The investor, son of late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith, was arrested and cautioned last year over messages he left on her phone. Both hired PR consultants as their Twitter war escalated. As hostilities reached

boiling point, the rapper waded in online. The couple later called a truce on Twitter. A friend of Mr Goldsmith told The Sunday Times magazine: “He was in a terrible state.

“Unless you’ve been through an acrimonious divorce, you can’t imagine what they were going through.

“Ben was desperately in love with her and I think marrying so young was a way of escaping the Goldsmith playboy image and establishing a stable foundation for his life. Then it all went wrong.”

Mr Goldsmith’s brother Zac, Tory MP for Richmond, is due to marry Ms Rothschild’s younger sister Alice in the spring.